


Noah Maxwell Takes A Little Trip to Beacon Academy

by firebrandtrickster



Category: Caughtnotsleeping, Everyman HYBRID, Marble Hornets, RWBY, Slender Man Mythos, Tribe Twelve
Genre: College Kids Dorking Around And Having Fun, Crossover, Humor/Adventure, posting for a friend, shit might get serious later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firebrandtrickster/pseuds/firebrandtrickster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm posting this on my account on behalf of my good friend Penthepoet! Credit goes to that little nerdling, I guess!</p><p>I'll copy-and-paste her summary for the story here:<br/>-</p><p>(A crack fic taken completely seriously.) </p><p>The four masters of Beacon Academy decide to summon four heroes. They get much, much more than what they bargained for. </p><p>(or, How I Learned To Stop Whining And Love The Slenderverse Protagonists) </p><p>-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Noah Maxwell Gets Taken To Remnant

"War is at hand. You feel it as well, I suspect," Ozpin declared.

Ironwood stared back at him. "You wouldn't dare." Ironwood warned.

Ozpin met this silent challenge with fury in his eyes. "I would." he said.

"We shall summon four heroes, from beyond the lands of Remnant. Perhaps they will aid us in our time of need." he finished.

-

Noah Maxwell's eyes flickered open. It was a beautiful day. In the way cliched fantasy novels put it, the birds were singing and the sun was shining. The forest floor was cool to the touch.. Wait a minute. Something was wrong with this picture.

Last he checked, Noah did not remember going to sleep in a forest.

He sat up.

"Are you fucking kidding me? The Collective's fucking with my head again, aren't they?" he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he heard a distinctly inhuman growl from the shade of the woods. Noah took a rock into his hands, ready to sling it and run. What jumped out was something oddly bear-like, with a white and red mask upon its ursine muzzle.

It glared at Noah, its red eyes menacing and accusatory. And then it roared in his face.

Noah threw that rock with unholy precision and ran as if the Slenderman itself was after him. Most people in Remnant generally agreed that a person lacking experience in Aura could not outrun a Grimm.

Especially an Ursa Major Grimm.

Eventually, Noah tripped. The situation was not looking bright for him. This Ursa loomed above Noah, ready to maim him or worse.

At that moment, the part of him that would eventually take him over and turn him into Firebrand acted on impulse.

A fireball, red and hot, launched itself into the stomach of the Grimm. From Noah's hand. The Grimm, unprepared for this sudden attack, stumbled before letting out a dying roar and falling to the ground.

Noah looked down at his hand, which was now completely black, but slowly turning back to its normal color. "H.. holy shit.. I just shot a fireball.. out of my hand?" Noah breathed in amazement and fear.

He saw a red-headed girl coming towards him with a javelin in her hands. She looked like a Greek goddess of war.

"Where am I?" Noah demanded of her. The girl looked confused.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, a grin on her face. "Where the fuck am I?" he asked, more stern this time. Again, the girl's look of confusion grew even more evident.

"... You're in Vale. In the deepest part of these woods, where Grimm roam." she answered. She turned around and observed the Ursa corpse lying beside Noah. "It looks like you don't need any help here. You've already killed one Grimm, I see. Without weapons." she added, before walking away.

"No! Wait!" Noah called out. The girl turned and looked at Noah. "Do you know a place where I can stay? I really don't want to have to stay in these woods with these huge fucking monsters for the night." he asked. She nodded. "I'll take you there. My name's Pyrrha, by the way. Pyrrha Nikos." she finished, extending a hand to help him up.

There was a pause. He took her hand. "Noah Maxwell." he introduced.

 


	2. The Summoning of Our Protagonists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Evan stumbles across Beacon Academy completely by accident.  
> Our heroes are summoned.
> 
> -Pen  
> -

_One night earlier.._

The Four Headmasters of Beacon had gathered to summon the heroes from another realm. They stood around an ancient summoning circle.

"Remember to please do be careful with what you say for your hero's attributes. When summoning, the Dust takes everything you say literally. Each of us will train one of these heroes. Keep this in mind." Ozpin warned. Then he began to chant in a language long dead, and the summoning circle set alight with Dust.

Ozpin was the first to step forward. "I ask for a hero that is adept at leadership, and quick with his wits. A hero who has great potential overall." he intoned, his baritone lending weight to his words.

Ironwood was the next to step forward. "I ask for a hero who is in all ways the perfect soldier, who knows the weight of taking a life. A hero defined by his inner strength." he informed.

Qrow went after him. "I ask for a hero who is stubborn and defiant, who has fire and determination. A hero that's a firebrand." he asked.

Last to walk forward was Glynda. "I ask for a hero who is adept with the blade, who has unimaginable power locked away inside him. A hero who's loyalty knows no bounds." she finished.

Ozpin finished with a chant. Dust was swirling out of the circle. And as the summoning finished, they all wondered.. who were their heroes going to be?

-

Evan stood up from his 'bed' in the leaves. Why the fuck was he in the woods? He didn't remember being here. Why was he here.. oh. He remembered now. HABIT. It was probably his fault. There's gotta be a town near here somewhere, he thought.

There was a rustling noise somewhere near him. His eyes lit up. Either it was a person or it was some weird furry animal. He drew his emergency knife from its sheath.

What looked like a boar to Evan came barreling towards him. He truly didn't give a shit that it was black and clearly not a normal boar. Motherfuck, he was excited that he at least had something to vent his anger on.

The boar was almost there and Evan was ready. Almost by instinct, his arm leapt towards the nearest target and the knife lodged itself in the not-boar's side. It was fighting him every step of the goddamn way. But his knife kept on stabbing, over and over and over, and when Evan looked down that not-boar was not moving anymore.

Evan pulled his emergency knife out and rejoiced. He had won! He had triumphed over this.. this thing!

After approximately a minute of whooping, hollering, and jumping around, Evan went eastward.

It took a little while before he walked onto the grounds of what looked like a massive castle. His jaw dropped. As he would learn later on, he was standing on the campus of Beacon Academy, where his destiny awaited.

 


	3. Noah Maxwell Gets Some Fuckin' Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Noah confronts Ozpin.  
> Tim finds himself in the woods yet again and has an eventful confrontation.  
> -

As Noah stood in front of Beacon, he was amazed at what sort of place this was. According to Pyrrha, the person who had found him, this was a place where people were trained to fight off the creatures from the woods - Grimm, as Pyrrha had called them.

"Holy shit, this place is massive!" Noah remarked to Pyrrha as they walked through Beacon's hallowed halls. Pyrrha turned to him and smiled. "Do they not have Huntress academies where you come from?" she replied.

Noah nodded in amazement as Pyrrha began to explain to him the intricacies of fighting Grimm. Apparently they had what basically amounted to magic at their fingertips.

Eventually they stopped in front of an office - the Headmaster's office, as Pyrrha put it. Noah had images in his head of a wizened old man with a long beard and pointy hat. The door swung open and Noah was comfortably proven wrong.

Standing before him was a relatively young-looking man with white hair and green spectacles.

"I see Pyrrha has brought a visitor." he said with a smile. "Pyrrha, could you please close the door behind you? I wish to have a talk with this friend of yours." he added, his voice calm and deep. Pyrrha left, giving Noah one last look before she went.

The door closed and Noah was left alone with this.. this Headmaster.

The Headmaster's smile remained, still. "Well. I think it would be wise of you to sit down, Mr. Maxwell. I will attempt to explain your situation." he declared, his voice still calm.

Noah was shocked yet again. "How the fuck do you know my name?" he questioned.

Again that serene, zen smile grew upon his face. "Because I was one of the ones that summoned you here, Noah Maxwell. You and a few others in your same plight." was the answer from the Headmaster. Noah was in thought for a minute.

"What's your name and how much do you know about me?" Noah queried.

The smile was still there. "I am Headmaster Ozpin. Due to the fact that I led the ritual, I knew that the four who summoned you and the others - me included - would dream about the heroes we one day would teach. Your future teacher told me quite a bit about you, Noah."

"Fine. Humor me. What did he learn about me?"

Ozpin took a deep breath in.

"You and the others are all linked through a faceless, tall entity that stalked you all. You in particular were singled out by this creature due to your potential - it wanted you to join its shadowy group of followers, the Collective. You fought against it long and hard. I can comfortably say that if we had let you stay there in your realm, you would have become the Stubborn much sooner than intended, due to the manipulations of the Observer." Ozpin explained.

Noah's eyes widened.

"So you chose me and a few others to.. what, save the fuckin' world?" Noah asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "We already have a team for that. But you, and the others we summoned… we intend for you to guard this school against the eldritch beings of this realm. You have great potential, Noah. Your Semblance is not an ordinary one - it's not everyday we get a person that can manipulate elements from within." Ozpin finished.

"You are something we have not seen in quite a long time." were Ozpin's final words.

-

Tim's eyes opened. Woods. How familiar. This was a dream, wasn't it? Another dream to torment him. He knew how these dreams went. Jay or Alex would appear, any minute now.

He stood up and began to walk. But behind him he heard something. A howl. He turned around and behind him was a masked wolf. There was a scar, gouged deep into its mask. The red glow of its eyes was.. calming. Understanding. Something about this wolf reminded him of Alex. Tim held out a hand, towards it.

The wolf stood there, as if waiting. The wolf put its head into Tim's hand. Then Tim heard something - a voice, in his head. _Masked One. I thank you for easing my sorrows. What may I do to assist you in your time of need?_

Tim somehow knew it was the wolf. "Where is the nearest city?" were the words that came from his mouth.

The wolf nodded and turned eastward. _A half sun's step from there. I must warn you - the hunters make their domain there, and you know as well as I how they harm fellow Masks such as ourselves. Be careful, my friend._ the wolf reassured.

Tim turned to walk that way, but then turned back to the wolf. "Thank you." he said.

The wolf seemed to smile. Then the masked wolf ran, ran, ran westward into the black of the woods.

Tim decided to follow the advice of the wolf and began a journey eastward, to Beacon.

He was still slightly unnerved at how the wolf referred to him as 'Masked One.'

Unbeknownst to him, another person from his realm had come with him, and was following him to Beacon.

Time could only tell who the person ended up being.

-

 


	4. Our Final Hero Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Noah meets with an old friend.  
> Caught is done with this shit.  
> -

Noah was sitting in the empty dorm that was assigned to him. Apparently, he was supposed to wait here for the other three ‘heroes’ to come.  

He’d already exhausted his options of screaming obscenities at the wall, just screaming, and generally pondering if this was a dream.

Because if it was, whoever was making it had a sick sense of humor. Of all the magical ‘Semblances’ he could have received, it had to be the one that partially turned him into the scary god demon he was fated to become.

He sat on his bed in general silence. Then the door slammed open and Noah was suddenly out of his bed, fists at the ready.

“Noah?” was the ever so familiar voice that crept into his ear. Noah looked, really looked, and saw Evan standing in front of him. The real Evan that he had met on his trip, not that fucking creepy HABIT.

“Why are you here? The weird Ozpin-headmaster-guy said that coming into this room would explain everything. So far, I’m even more confused,” Evan stated.

Noah gave him an understanding look. “I get that. This place is still weird-as-shit even to me, and I’ve been here a day. I also _really_ don’t trust that Ozpin guy. He knows a **lot** more about us than he should.” Noah reassured.

“What’d you mean?” Evan asked.

“I mean that he knew about my whole situation with Daddy Longlegs and his demonic book club. He also said that apparently he knows a lot about the rest of us, as well. Including you.” Noah replied. Evan’s eyes widened.

“For now, we have to stay here, play their shitty game. At least it’ll be better than what we had to deal with back home. I mean, shit, we’ve got magic powers! Perhaps maybe once we know how this place works, we can make a break for it with the others!” Noah promised.

Something else - hope - shone in Evan’s eyes. “We’ve got magic powers?” he said in awe.

-

Caught woke up. Goddamnit, he was in a forest. Either he got very drunk and fell asleep in the woods or this was the Slenderman’s fault. He was more inclined towards the latter.

He stumbled through the woods and came to a clearing, wherein he saw a girl with bunny ears fighting a giant masked snake.

Yep. He was on drugs. Only solution. This bunny girl was soundly kicking this snake’s ass with what looked like a fuckin’ bazooka. Jesus, this was like something out of a shitty anime.

Suddenly, the snake lunged at him and he knew, he knew this was the end. He closed his eyes, braced for it… but it never came.

He opened his eyes and there was what appeared to be a force-field coming from his hands, encasing him in a bubble of sweet, sweet protection. He flipped the giant snake off with his force-field projecting hands.

But a gunshot sounded out and the giant snake fell right in front of him. “FUCK.” he yelled, perhaps a bit too loudly.

“I wasn’t even **involved** in what just happened there.” he remarked. The bunny girl strided up to him.  “Hello? What are you doing out here in these woods?” she asked.

 Caught was struck by impulse. The words that came spilling out of his mouth were ones he absolutely did not recognize. He had no idea what he was saying.

What came out of his mouth were the words “Take me to Ozpin, please.”  

The bunny girl grew confused. “Take you to Ozpin? Why?” she asked.

Again, the words that flowed out of his mouth were not his own.

“The Headmaster! The Headmaster of that one academy where you guys train to fight monsters like that! Take me to him, _please_!” he damn near shouted.  The bunny girl covered her ears. After a bit, she relented. “Very well.. I’ll take you to Beacon.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind, the Fanfiction version of this story gets priority in updates. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11743944/1/Noah-Maxwell-Takes-A-Little-Trip-To-Beacon 
> 
> Drop by, perhaps leave a good review or two behind on the story? I'd appreciate it.


	5. The Dream Team Meets Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Noah and Evan come face to face with the other heroes.   
> Noah and Tim bond over terrifying murder dreams.  
> -

-

Noah and Evan sat in their room. They’d been sitting there for a day, doing various things that boredom threw into their heads, like Never Have I Ever and a non-alcoholic version of a drinking game. 

Then two other people walked into the room. One looked as if he hadn’t slept in a month and the other, who wore a beige jacket, looked as if he had seen far too much. 

There was no conversation, at first. It was just them staring at each other, trying to gauge what the other’s personality was like. Eventually, the Insomniac spoke. 

“Looks like we need an introduction. According to the Headmaster,  **you guys** have also dealt with the same shit involving Mr. Tall, Pale, and Faceless. Also, apparently we’re a team now and there’s no takebacks, according to The Great and Powerful Ozpin.” the Insomniac stated. 

He sat down. 

“I’ll start it off; call me Caught. It’s pretty much the only name I know at this point, because the Slenderman basically erased a lot of my memories. I’ve been dealing with it for god knows how long.” the Insomniac introduced. 

The man in the beige jacket sat down, as well. 

He took a breath to introduce himself. Evan chimed in before he could speak. “We know who you are. Practically everyone here has seen Marble Hornets. You’re Tim. Sorry about Jay, man. That sucks.” Evan offered. Tim nodded. 

Noah’s expression shifted to one of guilt. 

“I thought Marble Hornets wasn’t real. Fuck, I’m sorry.” he uttered. 

“It’s ok. I’d be the same way.” Tim accepted.

“I’m Noah Maxwell. I’ve not only had to deal with the Slenderman, I’ve also had to deal with his cult of scary god-demons called the Collective for 6 fuckin’ years. And I’m absolutely goddamn sick of it.” Noah announced.

Evan shrugged. “Best for last. I’m Evan. I mean, yeah, I’ve had to deal with Slenderman, but I’ve also been possessed by a murder demon called HABIT. It wasn’t pretty.” he proclaimed.

Everyone’s eyes were wide. Saying you’ve been possessed by a demon tends to be one of those phrases that ends a conversation. 

“I need a fuckin’ drink.” Noah informed.

-

That night, Tim had nightmares. Not the normal ones he used to have, no, these were vivid beastly things that made him wake up screaming.  Instantly, as if by teleportation, Noah sat on Tim’s bed. “Let me guess. Nightmares?” he said, raising an eyebrow.  Tim could do nothing but nod. 

“So you have terrifying murder dreams too. Good to know. Let’s talk about it, I find that helps me sometimes.” Noah replied, his voice sympathetic. 

So Tim and Noah talked, late into the night, about their nightmares and their lives before Slenderman.

-


	6. And The Team Name Is

Caught, Tim, Noah, and Evan stood in Ozpin’s office. They had already been introduced to Ozpin’s compatriots.

Ozpin looked over the boys, his expression unclear.

“Alas, you missed the first day of the school year, so we cannot pick the team leader in the usual way. In rare occasions such as this, special rules are allowed.” Ozpin explained. His green spectacles shone in the daylight, making him look more than a little intimidating.

Glynda stepped forward. “We will send you into the woods, as you are now. You must track down an Ursa Major and defeat it. If I recall correctly, Noah knows what you’re looking for.” Glynda added.

“Good luck.” the two said in unison.

-

It was Qrow that escorted them into the woods.

“After we find out who the leader is, we will pick which of you we will teach.” Qrow told them. “Ozpin said you guys already know, apparently. Why are you lying to us?” Noah replied. Qrow turned to face Noah and pointed at him.

“I _like_ you.” was Qrow’s answer.

They now stood at the edge of the woods. “You guys are up. Good luck.” Qrow finished before he left.

-

Once they were alone, Noah began swearing profusely. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? WE DON’T EVEN HAVE ANY WEAPONS!” he yelled.

Evan just smiled as he began pulling out knives from increasingly improbable places on his person, including a wickedly sharp bowie knife from his shoe. “How the hell did you do that?” Caught asked. Again, Evan just smiled.

-

“Where the fuck is this bear thing?” Tim swore. He was greeted only with shrugs from his team.

It had been 2 hours and they still hadn’t found it. Finally, they decided to have a meeting. Caught put up a force-field and the meeting began.  “Ok. Here’s how we do this. Tim and I distract him. You and Evan attack from behind. I know you don’t want to follow orders from me; I wouldn’t either. Just.. trust me on this, guys.” Caught commanded.  “Yeah, I could probably torch him from the back while Evan uses his stabbing powers.” Noah replied casually.

As if on cue, they heard a roar from behind. “Let’s get dangerous.” Evan announced with glee.

Immediately, everyone was in their places.

Caught had Tim under a forcefield. The Ursa lunged and the other two attacked.

Evan immediately cleaved the mask of the Grimm in half. Noah’s hands were afire as he launched fireball after fireball at the Grimm.

The Grimm snapped at Evan and immediately the others joined in, attacking this Grimm.

Evan’s knife glowed red as he made the killing strike.

Tim could hear only one word in his head as the Ursa fell.

_Traitor._

-

As they walked out of the woods, they were smiling. “I really hope I’m not the leader, guys.” Caught confessed with a grin.

-

“Is it wrong that I made Caught the leader purely because it would make for a better acronym?” Ozpin sighed to Glynda, his head in his hands.

-

The boys were now back at Ozpin’s office.

“It took much debate, but now I have decided the leader. Gentlemen, your fearless leader is Caught.” Ozpin declared.

Caught’s eyes narrowed.

“Your bravery and determination has proved you all a better match for a team than any I have ever seen. You have passed the test with flying colors. I give you your team name. You all, from now on until the sands of time obscure your names forevermore, are Team Citrine.” Ozpin began.

“And as for your private teachers..” Ozpin added.

Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood stepped into the room.

Glynda went first, stepping towards Evan. “With discipline, you could be an fierce creature on the battlefield. I trust we shall accomplish great things together, you and I.” she declared with pride.

Qrow went next, striding towards Noah. “You impressed me with your wit and defiance. Not many kids would dare to call out their teacher for lying. You’re a spitfire. Your experiences with the Collective showed that well. And most importantly, you’re now my student, Noah Maxwell.” Qrow announced.

Ironwood went after him, marching towards Tim. “Throughout your entire ordeal, you were strong-willed and brave even in the face of overwhelming danger. You never felt sorry for yourself, even as the situation called upon sacrifice after sacrifice. You learned in your years of life so far what most men cannot learn in a lifetime, Tim. I have taken it upon myself to teach you the ways of war.” Ironwood informed.

Ozpin said nothing to Caught, merely raised an eyebrow.

-


	7. What The Rest Of Beacon Thought

Team RWBY had called a meeting in the library. Something was up with Ozpin and Qrow. Ruby and Yang barely ever saw Qrow anymore.

They had also invited Team JNPR over for additional help.

"Ok. From what I know, we haven't seen Ozpin and the others in aaages. I, Ruby Rose, have invited you all here to help us figure out why we haven't seen them. Does anybody have any theories?" Ruby began.

"ALIENS! IT HAS TO BE ALIENS! ONLY EXPLANATION!" Nora yelled as Ren shushed her. "That would be cool if it was aliens." Blake added.

Yang raised a hand. "Well, maybe they're out of the school doing.. adult things like taxes?" she suggested.

Weiss shook her head. "No, that can't be it. I've seen them in the school. It has to be something else." she debunked.

Pyrrha was suspiciously quiet. "Do you have any theories, Pyrrha? You haven't been talking much." Jaune coaxed. She paused before spilling out the secret she had been keeping from her team this whole week.

".. I didn't know if I should tell you guys this, because I didn't want to get in trouble, but I found a man in the woods. He smelled like smoke, and there was a singed Ursa corpse lying next to him… he sounded like he didn't know where he was. When I told him he was in Vale, he looked confused. He didn't know about Grimm or even Dust. I took him to Beacon, up to Ozpin's office. When I dropped him off, I eavesdropped on Ozpin and the man's conversation. Ozpin knew him. Knew his name. I think he's still in the school, guys." Pyrrha divulged.

Blake looked deep in thought. "I remember Velvet was talking about how she found another guy in the woods, too. He knew Ozpin as well, apparently. She took him to Beacon, up to Ozpin's office. Exactly the same as your case." she recalled.

"... What if the reason we haven't seen Ozpin and the others is because they're training these guys from the woods?" Ruby realized.

* * *

 

"Let's start with the sword, first. It's an oldie, but it gets the job done." Qrow started.

He grabbed a wooden training sword and handed it to Noah. "C'mon. Try and hit me with it. Don't just stand there like you burned down a brothel!" Qrow added.

Noah took a beginner's slash at Qrow, who effortlessly blocked it.

"It's in you somewhere, I know it! Get crazier with your moves, Noah! That's the only way you're going to win this fight!" Qrow shouted. So Noah got crazier, as per his instructor's request. His swings were now emboldened and he wore a confident grin on his face.

Now the two were effortlessly locked in a battle that would not end anytime soon. Their blades were now dancing with pitch-fever intensity. "That's what I've been looking for! Let's see you grit those teeth, Noah!" Qrow praised.

Then Qrow went on the attack. Suddenly the tables were turned. Noah was now fighting for his pride. Qrow sensed Noah was getting weary. He could see the sweat on Noah's brow. So he disarmed Noah as effortlessly as he had blocked, pointing the wooden training sword at Noah's throat.

"You've done good today. I'll be taking you and your friends out to dinner tonight at this damn good hibachi place downtown as a reward." Qrow remarked with a wink and a grin. "Now go back to your dorm, you fluffy-haired motherfucker." he finished.

Noah walked out of the training room happy. Sweaty, but happy.


	8. Training Montage, Motherf*cker!

The Four Headmasters had convened a meeting that was more a progress report on their students than anything. It had been a week since Team CTNE was formed and already, the Headmasters were growing competitive over their protege's progress on the Crucible.

The Crucible was how a Hunter's weapon was decided. They would be given several weapons over the course of two weeks to handle. Whichever one (or ones) suited their fighting style the most would be incorporated into their weapon. There were a few exceptions to this rule.

(For example, people who possessed summoning Semblances always received a rapier as at least one form of their weapon. It channeled their Semblances easier and stronger than any other weapon known to Huntresses.)

But Team CTNE were not the exceptions this time; after they finished the Crucible, it would proceed as normal. Their newly forged weapons would be presented to them in an elaborate ceremony, they would learn the true sobriquet of their weapon, and then their true training would begin at last.

Ozpin looked proud. "I will go first," he vocalized. He thought back to just recently, when Caught had completed a milestone in his training..

Caught had shown great promise with the halberd. He had ample strength with the weapon, and it seemed to feel natural in his grasp. The training that day was exacting. Caught was handling himself surprisingly well. He seemed to enjoy it. With sweat upon his brow, he finished the final move in the 48-move chain he had been practicing for 3 days.

"FINISHED!" Caught roared to the air.

Ozpin nodded in approval. With a grin and no small amount of pride, he said the words he had been waiting to say for a long while: "You may move on to the next weapon form. You have completed the first part of the Crucible, Caught. I am proud of you."

Caught's face lit up like a neon sign. He nearly jumped 70 feet in the air. "YES! YES, I DID IT, I WIN! CAUGHT WINS! FUCK YES!" Caught shouted, losing himself in the feeling of victory.

* * *

 

Ironwood recalled the day he had found Tim's Semblance, with eagerness in his tone.

Ironwood had took Tim into the woods to observe his technique of battle. Ironwood had always believed in pragmatism when it came to training.

Tim's affinity with the whip was incendiary, enough that Ironwood considered it a shoe-in for his weapon. Tim was also quite good with the misericorde, as it looked.

So far Tim was shaping up to be one of, if not the, finest students he had ever taught.

Ironwood watched as Tim's whip lashed at the Grimm, licking the air. He was taking notes on Tim's technique, that he remembered. He heard the hiss of a King Taijitu. This could be interesting, he thought.

He looked up and saw a sight that made him emit a sound of surprise that sounded vaguely like 'EH.'

Tim had a hand upon the scarred mask of a Beowolf Grimm. Tim's hand was swirling with blood-red energy, and his normally black eyes now glowed amber like brands. Tim seemed to be communicating with the Beowolf. There was no doubt in his mind now. This was Tim's Semblance.

Tim turned his head towards the scarred Beowolf and nodded, taking his hand off of the Beowolf's mask.

The Beowolf charged at the King Taijitu, brutally slashing at its serpentine throat. The Taijitu was writhing in pain. Tim wasted no time in pulling out his misericorde and stabbing it. Red splashed onto his face. As the Taijitu ceased its flailing, Tim let out an inhuman snarl. The Beowolf nodded at Tim and fled into the woods.

Tim stood there for a few minutes, his breathing heavy. Then he turned his amber gaze to Ironwood, his face bloodstained and feral. Ironwood recoiled. Tim's eyes were.. bestial would be an understatement. They were hungry and savage. The eyes of a Grimm.

Ironwood realized that if what he had seen was true, if Tim really could control Grimm and temporarily become as savage as them… then most likely he could summon them as well.

He could use this.

* * *

 

And Glynda recounted her experiences with the depths of Evan's knife obsession…

She had targets up. Evan had thrown three knives so far, and most of them were stuck firmly in the heart. She looked on in shock as he threw three more into the bullseye with a grin.

Finally he looked at her with triumph in his eyes. Then he threw another, dead in the center. "Told you so," he gloated.

"My life would be a lie if I couldn't throw knives, Glynda."

"THAT'S MA'AM TO YOU, MR. JENNINGS."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Well then. This is the longest chapter yet, at 960 words. Wow. Let me clear a few things up.
> 
> First, sorry about lack of updates.
> 
> Second, Evan's Semblance is critical hits.
> 
> Third, yes, there is a plot to the story and trust me, once it gets going it will be badass. There will be shenanigans in-between, though.
> 
> Fourth, go check out nicedynamites on tumblr. He's not only responsible for a lot of the ideas in this fic that will come up later on (and some of the lines, as well) but he's also done some amazing art for the story (there was another one he did that has major spoilers for the upcoming arc, so i'll link that art to you when the time comes)
> 
> Adieu, my dear readers! Remember to review, it helps get the creative juices flowing.


	9. Crucible

_Two weeks later.._

Team CTNE had finally passed the Crucible against all odds. The ceremony was today. They were all thrilled to receive their weapons at last.

Ozpin stood at the front of an ancient room. This place had always been used for Crucible ceremony, in cases such as this.

Team CTNE stood at the center of the room, beaming with pride.

"Caught, step forth," Ozpin ordered. Caught stepped forth.

"From the forge your weapon awakes," Ozpin breathed.

"May my heart be tempered when my weapon's soul cascades forth into battle." Caught recited from memory.

And with no time wasted, Ozpin gently handed Caught an ebony and gold crossbow.

It continued like this. Tim received a silver dueling rapier that gleamed in the dim candlelight. Noah was given a blackened silver blade that looked beautiful and terrible to behold. And Evan was handed steel claws.

Once this happened, they were ordered to sit upon the four cushions at the back of the room and close their eyes.

They all closed their eyes in unison. As the scent of incense hit their noses, they were suddenly whisked away, into a place deep in their minds..

* * *

 

 _Caught awoke in what seemed like a void._ He stood there in contemplation for a bit. Then he heard a very familiar voice from behind him.

 **"Hello again, Caught."** a distorted version of his voice snarled.

Caught turned around and saw himself. A distinctly pale-skinned and void-eyed version of himself wearing the same dark sweatshirt he often wore. He recognized this figure from the television monitors at that abandoned Cranbrook apartment. That creepy grin it wore still haunted him to this day.

"You're one of those creepy Puppet clones of me." Caught commented. The Puppet nodded.

 **"I know where Natalie is.."** it taunted, creepy grin still on display. Caught's expression shifted from one of mild annoyance to barely restrained fury. "DON'T YOU DARE HARM HER! I SAW THE AFTERMATH VIDEO! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO HER!" he roared, his voice darker than before.

Its grin changed to a smirk. **"I'm not here for that. You'll be glad to know I have no intentions of harming Natalie."** it informed.

Caught's face lightened up considerably. **"Yet."** it added, its voice now matching Caught's in creepiness.

Caught had to restrain himself from choking the pale bastard. He knew what he had to do. "What is your name?" he asked, turning his tone into a sharp blade to be pointed in the Puppet's direction.

The Puppet's smile grew wider. **"Amnesiac."** it replied.

* * *

 

 _Tim awoke in a dark wood._ He sat in front of a roaring campfire. The night wrapped itself around him. Standing just across from him was.. him. His alternate self wore a Grimm mask and an Hunting outfit. His alternate self felt so familiar..

"Have we met before?" Tim asked. The figure's appearance shifted briefly to that of the Mask he used to wear, during the events of Marble Hornets. He recognized that black and white mask. Then the figure shifted back to its 'normal' appearance. Its speech flowed into Tim's head, and he was shocked at what it said.

 _give in._ it purred in his head.

_embrace it. you've always been so strict, haven't you? you've always locked away your animal impulses. well, guess what? **they're coming out now, and nothing can lock them away again. think of it as punishment. punishment for failing to save Jay, punishment for killing Alex, punishment for letting Brian die. this is going to be fun. seeing you try to fight it off, and failing badly enough that suddenly the thought of ripping your new 'friends' throats out becomes more and more appetizing by the minute? now THAT WILL BE FUN, WON'T IT? OH, NOW THAT WILL BE FUN. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**_

"What is your name?" he asked as commanded by Ozpin, his voice full of fear.

Then it all stopped. The sound of crazed laughter stopped.

"Masquerade." his alternate self breathed.

* * *

 

 _Noah awoke in a black and white version of the Boardwalk._ Firebrand stood in front of him, wearing a familiar but still really fucking creepy version of his smile. **"Good to see you, Noah."** Firebrand said.

 **"Let's get down to business. Yes, I know what you came here for, but goddamnit, I am not letting you go until I tell you some shit you have to watch out for in the future."** Firebrand began. Noah mentally cursed. He wanted this to be easy and short.

 **"First of all, you've gotta watch out for the others. They're struggling with the same shit you are. Especially Evan. I mean.. fuck, I almost feel sorry for what's gonna happen to the little dorito."** Firebrand mused.

Noah's eyes widened. "What happens to him?" Noah queried.

Firebrand shook his head. **"Can't tell you much. All I can tell you is that he won't be dead by the end of it, but for a little while he'll wish he was."** Firebrand replied.

 **"Secondly… HABIT's old friend is coming over to Beacon. You have to make sure he doesn't get to Evan. You have to. That's gonna be the only way you avoid this."** Firebrand added.

 **"Finally, please can I have your permission to use your body in the future, just in case shit hits the fan?"** he finished.

Noah looked agast. "Fuck no! You've already used it without having to ask me before, why're you doing it now?" Noah refused.

Firebrand shook his head. **"I know you don't trust me. Fuck, considering some of my behavior, I wouldn't trust me either. But right now, I'm doing this as a safeguard against the horrible stuff I've seen for Evan. We'll have to team up, you and I. After all.. I am you, in the end. Whatever you feel, I feel. Including your never-ending affection for your friends. Just.. please. Do this, if not for you, then for Evan. For all your friends."** Firebrand explained.

Noah nodded. "Fine." he agreed.

As Firebrand turned to walk away, he stopped mid-turn. **"Almost forgot. Your weapon's name is Firebrand as well. Fate's a bitch, isn't it?"** Firebrand finished.

* * *

 

_Evan awoke on a familiar Bridge to Nowhere._

A figure looked down upon him.

HABIT. For some reason, HABIT still looked exactly the same as him.

**"WELL, WELL, WELL. YOUR WEAPON'S NAME IS A GOOD ONE."**

Evan held his breath in fear.

 **"MERCILESS."** HABIT growled, a grin on his face.

Images flashed into Evan's head.

A tortured, broken man.

A bystander girl with blue hair.

And a name.

"Patrick Andersen."


	10. Nimby!

Tim walked through the courtyards in the freezing rain. The air had a bitter chill to it that seeped through his coat and clawed at his bones. Today was, by all accounts, a miserable day. A little ways away from him, he heard laughter.

He approached and saw Cardin Winchester, who was know throughout the school as the resident bully and puppy-kicker, smiling cruelly with his team and holding a small kitten. "Why don't we feed it to the Grimm?" Cardin suggested.

"Try it and I'll smash your leg in with a brick, Cardin." Tim threatened cooly. Cardin was not one to be humiliated, however. He swaggered up to Tim, his face arrogant.

"I've heard of you. Your team gets special treatment from the Headmasters, apparently. What'll you do to me if I try it? Will you go run away bawling to Ozpin? Get a grip, liar." Cardin sneered.

Tim saw red. He was at that level of anger that was so potent he was calm.

Tim pulled a knife from his sleeve and silently thanked God he was on a team with Evan 'hide knives everywhere, even in my own teammate's clothes' Jennings. He took a breath in, steeling himself against losing his control due to what he was about to say.

Then he began.

"A year ago, I stabbed Alex Kralie in the neck until he stopped breathing." Tim breathed, his voice loud and low. "I can still see every detail of it in my head, you know. Right down to his thrashing and the fear in his eyes as he realized that just because he was once my friend didn't mean I had any intention of sparing him." he continued.

There was fear in Cardin's eyes. Tim was right in Cardin's face now. **"Run."** Tim snarled. Cardin dropped the kitten. Then he and his team took off, yelling the word 'FREAK!' behind them as they fled.

Tim was looking down at the wee, shivering kitten they left behind. He scooped the kitten into his arms, shielding it from the rain with his coat, and ran to the dorms.

" **Evan** , quit flailing around, my shoulders hurt!" Noah snapped. Caught shook his head. "This is a mountain of bad ideas just waiting to crush us while we sleep." Caught declared. He knew it wasn't a good idea to DIY bunkbeds.

"We all know Ozpin only made you the leader for the acronym!" Evan yelled from atop Noah's shoulders. "You have no power here, you grumbly motherfucker!" Evan finished, folding his arms in defiance. Finally, Evan crawled down from Noah's shoulders.

"BEHOLD!" he boomed, his face alight with fiendish glee. Noah grinned. "I always wanted a bunkbed." he revealed.

Caught sighed. Those two together were a car-crash in slow motion.

Tim burst into the room and the other three turned their heads in unison. There was something fidgeting around in his beige jacket. "What the fuck, Tim?" Noah asked.

Tim said nothing, but pulled out the kitten and gently placed it on the floor.

The reaction was immediate. Evan began producing unintelligible noises.

"Goddamnit, it's too cute, it's too goddamn cute," Noah said. He lunged for the kitten, gently holding it in his arms.

There was silence. Then Noah spoke. "Nimby. He will be Nimby." he crooned, cradling the kitten as if he were holding a babe. "Why do you get to name hiiim?" Evan complained. "Because I feed him, asshole." Noah deadpanned.

"We can't keep him, we'll get in trouble, **this is a bad idea and we should not do this,** " Caught ranted. "Hey, Team RWBY has a dog and nobody's yelled at them yet." Noah defended. "They're basically the main protagonists of this weird shitty little anime, though. They never get in trouble for anything." Caught snapped in reply.

Noah paused to contemplate it, then nodded. "You got me there." he acknowledged.

"But Caught, we can't leave him! His eyes are full of **love**." Evan added. Caught stared into Nimby's soulful eyes. It took two minutes for Caught to break.

"Fine." he grumbled.


	11. Time Catches Up With Us All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> http://penthepoet.tumblr.com/post/138408336213/nicedynamites-its-penthepoets-fault-oh-my
> 
> Some fanart!

_Two days earlier.._

Team CTNE was holding their Nightly Group Therapy again. It started ever since the first night where Tim and Noah talked about their nightmares. Evan and Caught had joined them the second night, and so a nightly ritual had begun. Although most of them never outright said it, they all non-verbally agreed that it helped them mentally.

"First day of badass school's tomorrow! Glynda told me today. We get to learn fighty-stabby things with the small high school kids now! I'm pumped. How do the rest of you guys feel?" Evan chirped happily.

Noah smirked. "I've been practicing with my sword-glaive, Firebrand. Let's see if any of the other little shits have weapons as awesome as mine," Noah replied.

Caught nodded. "Let's show this school how Team CTNE rolls. And remember.." Caught commented.

"If anybody tries to bully us, we beat the shit out of them!" Evan added. There was a pause. Then they all collapsed into giggles and snickering.

"I'm excited. If He ever does come back to finish the job, we'll know enough about Dust to maybe have a fighting chance of killing it." Tim remarked. The team fell into a stunned silence, because they knew it was true.

Tim awoke to a pillow being slammed into his face and Evan screaming into his ear. "..what?" he blurted, still in morning phase.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP, WE'LL MISS PORT'S CLASS!" Evan yelled. Tim climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed, only to have clothes thrown at him violently. The others were already dressed and awake.

After that whole fiasco, Team CTNE found themselves in Port's class. Port himself stood at the front of the class, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Well then! We have five new transfer students here! Please come to the front of the classroom, Team CTNE!" Port announced.

They wandered up to the front. "Introductions, please!" Port declared.

"Caught." "Evan." "Tim." "Noah."

"Hm.. and where do you hail from? Those names sound foreign.." Port asked. The rest of Team CTNE stared at Caught. Ozpin had ordered them not to say where they really came from. Caught had to improvise now.

"Classified. We can't tell you. Ozpin's orders." Caught replied. One of Port's bushy eyebrows raised in curiosity. Then he seemed to drop the thought.

"Go back to your seats, then. We also have one other transfer student, hailing from Mistral." Port ordered.

They wandered back to their seats. There was another transfer student? Ozpin informed them that they were going to be the only ones..

A charming and very good-looking man, looking to be about their age, wandered to the front.

"And what might your name be, young man?" Port inquired.

The man smiled a falsely innocent grin. "Patrick Andersen." he revealed.

Evan's blood ran cold in its veins. The image that had swirled into his head last he had heard that name was of a blood-stained, well-dressed man with a malicious smirk.. who just so happened to look _exactly the same as the man who stood before them._

"I'm quite happy to be working with you all." Patrick began, his gaze lingering on Evan just a moment too long with that **creepy goddamn fake-innocent grin.**

The others in his team smirked and leaned in towards Evan. "Ooh, somebody's got a secret admirer.." Noah teased, whispering into Evan's right ear.

"Evan and Patrick, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Caught taunted, sitting on Evan's left.

Evan was dying inside.

He didn't bring it up at therapy that night.

And he had nightmares of Patrick, slicing him to the bone,

Patrick, whispering in his ear and being generally stalkerish as fuck,

And Patrick, murdering all of his friends.


	12. Relapse

It was sparring day. Team CTNE was up. Evan was pretty excited. He would finally get to use Merciless on the field! He waited to see who he would spar with this time. Nothing could ruin this day for him, nothing at all -

Evan watched, with dawning horror, as the roulette landed upon Patrick. Evan tried not to show how afraid he was as the well-dressed man strode over with almost infernal elegance. "Nice to see you again, **Evan,** " Patrick greeted.

"To be honest, I've been waiting to see how you fight. If you fight as well as you look, Evan dear, I'm in for one hell of a show." he continued.

Evan didn't react. He wasn't going to let his nightmares get in the way of this match. He took a deep breath in and flicked his wrist, unsheathing his steel claws.

Patrick's wickedly blood-red fire-axe gleamed in his hands. Immediately he rushed into battle, his axe cleaving the air. He swung at Evan with frightening speed. His grin was frenzied and filled with unmatched bloodlust.

But it was the sadistic gleam in his eye that truly terrified Evan.

Their blades locked. Patrick leaned in, insane grin on full display.

**"I know you have nightmares about me,"** Patrick purred darkly. Evan's heart seemed to beat in reverse. He could feel something stir in the back of his head. "You.. shouldn't know that.." Evan breathed.

Patrick broke through the lock and the match continued. The two matched each other's blows.

But Patrick was ultimately the better fighter. He had Evan cornered. He pinned Evan to the wall. Evan looked down at the floor. The last thing he wanted to look into right now was Patrick's eyes. **_"Look up, Evan."_** Patrick hissed coldly.

Evan did not look up.

Patrick tilted Evan's chin up with two fingers.

A grin of satisfaction grew across his face. "That's better." Patrick mused, staring into Evan's eyes with more than malicious intentions.

"ENOUGH!" Glynda roared. She pulled Patrick off of Evan. Evan sighed in relief. "I know that Sanctuary students are not taught to act this way! Behave yourself, Mr. Andersen!" she barked.

Patrick's grin had hardened to the falsely innocent grin he usually wore around Beacon faculty and students. "But, of course, Ms. Goodwytch. I won't misbehave. After all, I don't want to bother you with my troubles." he apologized.

What happened next was something that Evan never forgot. Patrick's eyes flashed red as blood, just for a moment. Glynda's expression softened and her eyes grew tired.

"I'll leave you to it, then, Mr. Andersen," she said in a sleepy monotone.

Patrick turned to Evan, still smiling. Patrick's eyes flashed red again. And Evan heard Patrick's voice in his head. **_"I could do this to you as easily as I could with Ms. Glynda. After all, as my friend says, we're all creatures of habit.."_** Patrick's voice hissed with malicious glee.

Evan was horrified.

So he, entirely of his own volition, got up and ran like hell back to his dorm. Patrick's dark laughter echoed in his head as he ran.

Without hesitation, the rest of Team CTNE took off after him.

Patrick's grin was genuine and bloodthirsty now. He knew it was going to be so much fun, breaking little Evan.

Evan got to his dorm, curled up into a little ball on his bunk, and began to take deep breaths. _"He's not going to hurt me, he's not going to hurt me.."_ Evan repeated, over and over again. The pain in his head was getting so much worse. He realized exactly why his head hurt so much. In one, painful realization his mental health drained.

Caught, Tim, and Noah stormed in to find Evan sobbing. They immediately rushed to his side.

"What did he say to you? What did the little fucker say?" Noah asked.

So Evan told them everything.

When it was done, the others were livid.

"If he tries to lay a finger on you, we will beat the shit out of him. You do realize that, right?" Caught reassured.

Evan nodded, mutely.

Noah was slightly in shock, though.

Because when Evan explained, Firebrand said only one thing: **"I warned you."**


	13. Coffee Time! (Part 1)

Noah's eyes flicked open. He slowly became aware of Evan staring him in the face with a shiteating grin.

"Nooooah, I've got something to cheer the both of us up.." Evan informed.

"God, what is it?" Noah asked, his tone acrid and sarcastic.

Evan slowly held up a medium sized cloth drawstring bag that looked full to bursting with something that smelled like.. coffee.

Noah realized in an instant _exactly where Evan got that drawstring bag._

The others rocketed awake. "You did not." Caught gasped.

"I did," Evan replied with a smirk.

"Evan, no." Noah scolded.

**"Evan yes."** Evan grinned.

Eventually, with much hesitation, he managed to get the rest on board.

He was smiling as he was brewing it.

"It was stupidly easy to steal from Oobleck's office. Like he was just begging me to take it." Evan bragged.

Tim was examining the drawstring bag itself. "This bag says that one of the side effects of drinking this is hallucinations." he remarked, very matter of factly.

Evan turned around with shock engraved on his features. "Really?" he asked.

Tim looked back at the text written on the bag and nodded.

Evan's grin grew even wider as he snatched the cup of coffee from its perch and downed it in one gulp.

He suddenly underwent a metaphorical transformation. His pupils dilated to the point where he looked completely insane. His body began to shake.

He looked around frantically. Then he winced. "I SEE DEAD PEOPLE." he bemoaned.

"Oh god, we haven't even started classes yet and Evan's gotten high on coffee." Noah sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REVIEWS! COMMENTS! KUDOS! THEY TELL ME THAT YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF THE FIC PUBLISHED HERE ON AO3!


	14. Coffee Time! (Part 2)

Port sat calmly at his desk, sipping chai and taking a few deep breaths in. He was steadying himself during the student's lunch break.

Suddenly Oobleck burst into the room. "IT'S HAPPENED. FIRST TIME THIS YEAR. SOMEBODY'S STOLEN MY COFFEE. AND I THINK I KNOW THE CULPRIT." he blurted.

Port's eyebrows shot up. "Calm down! Could you explain more carefully, Barty?" Port queried.

Oobleck nodded.

 _"I woke up at approximately 0630 this morning to brew some of my special 'Lightning Dust' coffee. And I observed a bag of the coffee beans missing from amongst my collection of 742 bags. I planned out how to catch the culprit before rushing to you, dear friend, because in the wrong dosages, this coffee could be extremely dangerous."_ Oobleck ranted.

Port nodded, in a state of ever so slight confusion.

"..Wait, I remember you saying that drinking one cup can make you hallucinate, and I've seen you drink 17 cups on your diet days.." Port recalled.

Oobleck merely pushed his spectacles up and stared at Port with the insanity of a ward patient. "I have learned to ride the Nevermore, not let the Nevermore ride me." he said with such resolute firmness that Port actually _believed_ the madman.

"Who do you think the culprit is, then?" Port asked.

"Evan Jennings." was Oobleck's reply.

"Why?"

"Because he's acting the way I did when I had my first cup in the cafeteria." Oobleck answered.

In the Courtyard..

Evan had Cardin pinned to the floor with throwing knives, and had a knife pointing straight for Cardin's manhood. "CALL ME A SHORTASS ONE MORE TIME, MY FRIEND! IF I HEAR THOSE WORDS COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IN THE EXACT ORDER I HEARD FROM YOUR FUCKBOY ASS, I WILL CRUSH YOU." Evan roared, his face the epitome of displeasure.

"I didn't say anything.." Cardin faltered.

"NO, TRUST ME, I HEARD YOU WERE TALKING SHIT. RULE NUMBER ONE: DO NOT TALK SHIT ABOUT ME IN MY EARSHOT. I will beat the shit out of you. Then I will break your ribs." Evan replied, going from shouting to a dull roar.

"It's true. Not taking back anything I said." Cardin quipped.

The results were exactly what you would expect from a drugged-up, bordering on inHABITED Evan.

Noah and the others were shaking their heads. "That's nasty as fuck." was all Noah said.

"Well, let's look at the bright side, at least Evan didn't break his ribs yet- I stand corrected." Caught asserted.

-

What else did drugged Evan do that day? Horrible things.

-

Evan sat behind Noah, just sucking in air. Noah turned to Evan and opened his mouth to say "What the fuck."

Evan suddenly got up on his desk and burst into roaring pirate chanteys.

-

Now they were doodling pictures in Port's class. Evan just stared at the paper, horrified. "AN ADULT! I NEED AN ADULT!" Evan bellowed. "I can help," Patrick whispered into Evan's ear. Evan recoiled, disgust on his face. "Get away from me, you malicious suspenders-wearing Faustian **demon.** " he cried, pointing at Patrick.

"I'm not a demon." Patrick replied. "You're lying and we all know it." Evan snapped.

-

Sadly enough, it did not end for the rest of Team CTNE when night fell.

They had to deal with Evan singing songs from The Clash and Alice Cooper, right up until Noah duct-taped Evan's head to a pillow.

Then there was blessed silence.


	15. The Witching Hour

Noah lay awake in his bed, staring at the bottom of Tim's bed. You didn't really get scenic views while in a bottom bunk. Thoughts of Milo swirled around in his head. He still did miss Milo Asher, so much.

The door opened, and Noah got the most overwhelming feeling of _dread_. He closed his eyes and made himself look asleep to the point where any outside observer couldn't tell the difference. He felt a deep calm pool inside him. Then he heard the one voice he never wanted to hear in this room and the calm chilled to ice itself.

"Well, well. I've finally entered Team Citrine's room, for the third time. Which bed is little Evan resting his lovely little head in.." Patrick whispered to himself, holding a camera in his hands.

A chill rushed down Noah's spine. **'Holy shit, he's here.'** Noah thought to himself. He could see everything, through his half-shut eyelids.

Patrick strode towards Evan's bunk. "Oh, what a cute little face.. You really did have good taste in vessels, didn't you, Hab? … I miss you, I really do. Haven't seen you in ages," he breathed softly. He stroked Evan's face, ever so gently, with a small grin on his features.

"It's almost _selfish_ of you, Evan, to be doing this. I have friends I like too, you know! ...You've kept my friend locked away in your brain for so long. I've dealt with it for some time. But I have my _limits,_ Evan dear," he hissed quietly into Evan's ear.

"I'll bring you back, Hab, my dear. I'll bring you back and we can take the world by **storm** again. We can paint the town red, just like good old times," he continued.

"I'm going to break them all, Hab, I am. I'll break Caught, I'll break Tim so deeply he won't even be able to breathe, I'll definitely break Noah, and Evan I'll save for last. You'll see," he muttered. "You'll see. I'll use the knife, just for you," he repeated.

Then he walked up the ladder and Noah heard Patrick breathe dark things into Tim's ear. He blocked out nearly all of it, except for one thing: **"You fascinate me."**

Noah saw Patrick leave notes under everybody's pillows and take picture after picture.

The final thing that Patrick did was walk to Noah's bed and just.. look at him. Every so often he would stroke Noah's face. Every moment of it was hell to Noah. He could not move or give any indication that he was awake.

He could see Patrick's face. Patrick seemed to be enjoying it, tracing Noah's features with a finger. "I could drown you, Noah. It would be so _easy_ to just extinguish that flame." Patrick mused.

Then he put his hands on Noah's neck roughly, as if to strangle him. He seemed to be _considering_ it. Noah was paralyzed, almost corpse-like. He stared up into those bloodthirsty eyes and saw Patrick's true, demonic nature. Patrick removed his hands from Noah's neck, almost stroking it.

Then he began to walk towards the door. But he stopped in front of it and turned to Noah.

His grin was sadistic and his eyes sparked with maliciousness.

"You'll die slowly, don't worry," he purred, waving goodbye to Noah.

And he strode out of the room, the image of that grin burned into Noah's memory, those words echoing in Noah's head.

_"You'll die slowly, don't worry."_

Evan took 3 showers the next day, as if to wash away any traces of Patrick on him.

The others were understandably rattled for a little while.

And Patrick knew, even seemed to **revel** in their paranoia.

Every time Noah looked at him, the same smile that plagued Noah's nightmares would spread across his face.

And Evan, poor thing, heard Patrick's wicked laughter in every one of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/NoahMaxwellTakesALittleTripHere
> 
> We have TvTropes page, I repeat, we have TvTropes page. Edits are greatly appreciated and earn you my respect as well as a new chapter. So try and edit it frequently, please!

**Author's Note:**

> Credit goes to the lovely Penthepoet! Go to her tumblr for more info if you want!


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